World Facts Index
 Modern
Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman
Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title
Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership,
the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a
period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the
1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful
transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but
democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military
coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of
political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the
ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then
Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to
prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to
the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey
recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) - now known as the People's Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel
(KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than
30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents
largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an
end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined
the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an
associate member of the European Community; over the past decade, it has
undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy enabling it to
begin accession membership talks with the European Union.
Geography of Turkey
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Location:
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southeastern Europe and
southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is
geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between
Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea, between Greece and Syria |
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Coordinates:
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39 00 N, 35 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 780,580 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km |
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Area comparative:
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slightly larger than Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240
km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822
km |
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Coastline:
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7,200 km |
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive economic zone:
in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former
USSR
territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM in Black Sea and
in Mediterranean Sea |
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Climate:
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temperate; hot, dry summers
with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
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Terrain:
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high central plateau
(Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
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Natural resources:
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antimony, coal, chromium,
mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower |
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Natural hazards:
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very severe earthquakes,
especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of
Marmara to Lake Van |
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Environment current issues:
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water pollution from
dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in
urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing
Bosporus ship traffic |
|
Geography - note:
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strategic location
controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles)
that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing
place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country
|
Population of Turkey
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Population:
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71,892,808 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 25.5% (male 9,133,226/female 8,800,070)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 24,218,277/female 23,456,761)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 2,198,073/female 2,607,551) |
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Median age:
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28.1 years |
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Growth rate:
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1.06% |
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Infant mortality:
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39.69 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 72.62 years
male: 70.18 years
female: 75.18 years |
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Fertility rate:
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1.92 children born/woman |
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Nationality:
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noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
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Ethnic groups:
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Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) |
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Religions:
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Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2%
(mostly Christians and Jews) |
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Languages:
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Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic,
Armenian, Greek |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 86.5%
male: 94.3%
female: 78.7%
|
Government
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of
Turkey
local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
local short form: Turkiye |
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Government type:
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republican parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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Ankara |
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Administrative divisions:
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81 provinces (iller, singular - il) |
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Independence:
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29 October 1923 (successor state to the
Ottoman Empire) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 29 October (1923) |
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Constitution:
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7 November 1982 |
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Legal system:
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derived from various European continental
legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Abdullah GUL (since 28
August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003);
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil CICEK (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister
Hayati YAZICI (since 29 August 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Nazim EKREN (since
29 August 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for one seven-year terms;
prime minister appointed by the president from among members of parliament. |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye
Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year
terms) |
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Judicial branch:
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Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay);
Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals;
Military High Administrative Court |
Economy
Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce
along with a traditional agriculture sector that still accounts for more than
35% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the
state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and
communication. The largest industrial sector is textiles and clothing, which
accounts for one-third of industrial employment; it faces stiff competition in
international markets with the end of the global quota system. However, other
sectors, notably the automotive and electronics industries, are rising in
importance within Turkey's export mix. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many
years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in
output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. The economy is turning around with the
implementation of economic reforms, and 2004 GDP growth reached 9%, followed
by roughly 5% annual growth from 2005-07. Inflation fell to 7.7% in 2005 - a
30-year low - but climbed back to 8.5% in 2007. Despite the strong economic
gains from 2002-07, which were largely due to renewed investor interest in
emerging markets, IMF backing, and tighter fiscal policy, the economy is still
burdened by a high current account deficit and high external debt. Further
economic and judicial reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to
boost foreign direct investment. The stock value of FDI currently stands at
about $85 billion. Privatization sales are currently approaching $21 billion.
Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking
a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the
Caspian to market. In 2007, Turkish financial markets weathered significant
domestic political turmoil, including turbulence sparked by controversy over
the selection of former Foreign Minister Abdullah GUL as Turkey's 11th
president. Economic fundamentals are sound, marked by strong economic growth
and foreign direct investment. Turkey's high current account deficit leaves
the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence,
however.
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GDP:
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$853.9 billion (2007 est.) |
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GDP growth rate:
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5.6% |
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GDP per capita:
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$8,200 |
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GDP composition by sector:
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agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 29.8%
services: 58.5% |
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Inflation rate:
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8.2% |
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Labor force:
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24.7 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 35.9%
industry: 22.8%
services: 41.2% |
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Unemployment:
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10.2% plus underemployment of 4% |
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Industries:
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textiles, food processing, autos, mining
(coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
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Electricity production by source:
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fossil fuel: 79.3%
hydro: 20.4%
other: 0.3%
nuclear: 0% |
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Agriculture:
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tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar
beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
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Exports:
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apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal
manufactures, transport equipment |
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Export partners:
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Germany 13%, UK 8.2%, Italy 7%, US 6.8%, France 5%, Spain
4.1% |
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Imports:
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machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods,
fuels, transport equipment |
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Import partners:
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Germany 13.6%, Russia 10.1%, Italy 6.9%, France 5.5%,
China 4.4%, US 4.1% |
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Currency:
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Turkish lira (TRL) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |